New California Law to Fight Age Discrimination in Hollywood

AB 1687 was signed into law on Saturday by California Governor Jerry Brown. It will go into effect on 1 January, 2017. The ruling dictates that entertainment database sites, such as IMDB, must remove an actor or actress' date of birth upon request. This law only applies to websites that can only be altered through paid subscriptions.

Even though state and federal law forbid age discrimination, it is incredibly difficult to police. Despite the legality, ageism still occurs. It's notable that in many major Hollywood productions, an older male actor will be paired with a much younger actress. This is not an indictment of particular movies, but of a trend. The discrimination is not just against actors and actresses, but people of every job within the movie industry.

There has been opposition to the new law. Some within the tech sphere have called it censorship. Regardless, the law passed with overwhelming support.

Hopefully this law can make some meaningful impact. Age should not be the deciding factor for viability.